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Posted on Saturday, May 05, 2012
Cool Water Hot Day
Pauline and Brent arrived Friday evening.
About 2:30 AM, the weather
radio sounded an alarm. There were severe thunderstorms on the way to
Cumberland County. An hour later the storms reached the farm. Thunder
and lightening with driving rain, but not much wind lasted for about a
half hour, then just a gentle rain for another hour. When daylight
arrived there wasn't any damage that could be seen. We had breakfast and
Linda and I took Kyle for a Mule ride with Daisy. Then we rode on the
tractor for a few minutes, all at Kyle's request. Oh and a short trip to
the 'pop sickle barn' for a treat. It was nearly 10:30 AM when we
returned to the house. Pauline and Brent were ready to get outside, so
we went back to the pole barn and messed around in there. The
temperature was going up and the sky had cleared. Brent mentioned that
we should go to the lake and run the boat. Everyone was eager to go, so
we began our preparation for the first boat trip of the year. We had to
stick on the new TN registration stickers, put the life jackets back in
the boat, take the cockpit covers off and put on the road covers, get
the pickup truck and hook up the boat trailer, pull it out of the barn
and tie down the road cover. Then we headed to the house for coolers and
food. Swim suits were next, would we use them or not, no one knew for
sure. Finally we were ready, Julie went with Linda and I in the truck
pulling the boat, Stacey rode with Kyle, Pauline and Brent. After
filling the boat with gas, we drove to the State Park and launched the
boat. I changed the routine, I was driving the boat off the trailer
while Brent parked the truck. The boat started right away and a few
minutes later we were under way. After exiting the dock area, I moved
out of the driver's seat and let Stacey take the wheel while I took a
few pictures.
We
rode for awhile, letting the battery charge and making sure things were
working properly as we enjoyed the view. There were other boats on the
lake and some people were on jet skis. There were a few boats with
people on tubes and skis. Stacey moved out of the driver's seat and let
Brent take the controls before we stopped. Julie and Kyle were ready to
swim and were dancing around on the deck at the back of the boat. Brent
was the first in the water and said it was chilly. Kyle about fell in
and was going in once he saw his Dad in the water. I grabbed his arm and
lowered him in the water before he fell in. Kyle said it was cold, but
swam over to his Dad. Julie went in next and right to Brent. Then Stacey
jumped in. Pauline, Linda and I remained in the boat.
After
they were out of the water and had dried off, we started the boat and
rode around the lake. The lake was 'flat' without much traffic and no
wind. The ride was really smooth and the air temperature was nice as we
checked out several places. Julie was needing a sandwich so we stopped
and had sandwiches for a late lunch. She had wanted to get her float out
earlier, so Brent used the extra time to blow it up and then tossed it
in the water. Julie was unsure how she had got in it last year, so Brent
had to give her a refresher course. It worked and away she went.
After
Julie returned to the boat, we rode around until nearly 5 PM. Then we
pulled the boat out of the lake, covered it up and towed it back to the
farm. After backing it in the pole barn, we went to the house and had
supper around 7 PM. People drifted to the bedrooms beginning around 8:30
PM.
It wasn't a perfect day, the water was a little chilly, but the
air temperature was 87 degrees most of the time we were on the water and
we all enjoyed our first trip of the season.
Posted on Wednesday, May 09, 2012
Hay Cut
When Stacey and I returned to the farm after the Events Committee
meeting we noticed that Phil and Steve Garmon were cutting the hay in
the fields across from the house.
The
spring weather had started early and the hay had been growing fairly
well, so they decided to cut it before it was too tall and began laying
over. When Linda came home from working at the school we took Daisy for
a run. Daisy has been acting badly by not coming back to the Mule when
we are ready to return her to the barn. Brent helped us get her back in
the Mule on Sunday after her acting up. Today, she wouldn't stop trying
to catch fish in the creek. When we drove the Mule closer to her, she
just moved on down the creek. She ran back and forth across the road a
couple of times, then up the hill behind the house. She was spastic,
running all over the hillside and finally down by the back porch. Linda
was able to get close enough to Daisy to get her attention, then Daisy
ran to the Mule and jumped in the back. We put her in the barn and
parked the Mule. All of this took about a half hour. We've tried giving
her treats when she comes back, but that doesn't work to get her to come
back. I'm thinking a shock collar maybe the only thing that might work.
☺
Update: Stacey and I took Daisy for a run on Thursday morning and she
was back to normal. She ran and stayed fairly close to the Mule, played
in the creek when we were close to the water, then ran with the Mule
while we were back in the 'holler'. At the right time, she hopped in the
back of the Mule like she was supposed to do.☺
Posted on Monday, May 14, 2012
Mother's Day In IN
We left the farm a little after 8 AM Saturday and drove towards
Daleville, IN. Linda called her Mom and she had already ate lunch, so we
went on towards Daleville. We stopped in Anderson and ate at Gene's Hot
Dog stand. The place was packed, with every parking spot filled. The hot
dogs and root beer all tasted great. After eating, we unloaded the HHR
and put Coco in the cage at my Mom's house in Daleville.
We
then went to Pendleton and visited with Nana. Linda gave her a potted
flower for Mother's Day. Reba had a new dog that was named Reese. The
dog was well behaved and about a year and a half old. We played with her
and talked, then Linda K and Imon arrived. I took a few pictures of the
dog and Nana wanted some printed, so I went to the drug store and made a
few prints for her to have.
We
left a little before dark and filled up with gas, then called Pizza King
in Chesterfield for a take out order. We picked it up on the way back to
Daleville and ate it at my Mom's house.
Sunday morning, we headed to
Muncie and stopped on the way to pick up some flowers, cupcakes and a
Mother's Day card for my Mom. We went inside at the Woodlands Nursing
Home and saw Virginia sitting with her jacket on and her hood tied. She
had been outside smoking and hadn't taken her coat off, I guess?
We
got Mom to take off her coat and stay awhile. I gave Mom her card and we
talked and had a good visit. Stacey gave Mom the cupcakes and Linda gave
her a potted miniature rose bush. We stayed over 2 hours and when Mom
ran out of things to talk about and was getting tired, we said good bye,
gave her hugs and left. We stopped for lunch, then went to visit Lana
and Frank Dial. We found them in their front yard doing some work. We
talked with them for a while and checked out the new boat that they had
bought a week or so earlier. We made plans to get together at Dale
Hollow later in the summer and then we headed out. Stacey watched the
Pacer game on TV while we took a break. After the game was over, we went
to Jessica and Jeff Summer's house near Markleville. She gave us a tour
through their house and showed us their animals. They have chickens,
ducks and two horses. There are several dogs too. Airianna and Trevon
were also hanging around as we talked with Jessica and Jeff. We made one
more stop while we were in Markleville at Jessica's Mom's house. Anita
had been working outside planting a small garden when we arrived. She
was surprised to see us. We talked with her for a half hour, then headed
back to Daleville for the night.
Monday
morning, Linda baked a package of cinnamon rolls and then we loaded the
HHR and headed back towards Burkesville. We stopped at Kingfish in
Jeffersonville for lunch.
The
traffic was light and the trip went quickly. We made it home by 1:30 PM.
We rested a little while, then rode around to see what the weather had
done while we were gone. I guess we had quite a bit of rain, but by
going to IN we had missed it all.
Posted on Saturday, May 19, 2012
Lillydale On Dale Hollow
Pauline and Brent with Julie and Kyle arrived Friday afternoon. Saturday
morning we prepared for a trip to the lake. This time, instead of fixing
breakfast, we went into Burkesville and ate at a pancake breakfast. The
pancakes were ready along with sausage patties as soon as we walked into
the church basement. It didn't take long and we left the church and were
on our way to the State Park. I drove the boat off the trailer and Brent
parked the truck and trailer. Pauline put the life jackets on the kids
and Linda and I put the bimini top up while Stacey put away our
billfolds and keys. Brent walked down the ramp and I pulled the boat
close to the dock for him to step in, we were then on our way. We rode
around enjoying the beautiful day, then stopped and let those that
wanted take a dip in the cool water. A little past noon, we rode over to
Lillydale campground to meet Stephannie and Kent. We found Steph and
Jackson playing in the water at the beach. Kent returned a few minutes
later. Linda asked them to go for a ride with us and they accepted, so
we pulled over close to the shore and let them climb in the back of the
boat.
We
took them riding around the lake for little over an hour, to Star Point,
Pusley Creek, past the State Park and near Eagle's Cove. Then we
returned to Lillydale and dropped them off by their camp site. After
saying so long, we boated out into the middle of the lake and just
drifted for little bit. We ate our sandwiches and played in the water.
When
it looked like the kids had enough sun, we decided to end the day. There
was no hurry as we took a slow ride back to the dock with Stacey driving
the boat. Brent retrieved the truck and trailer and I drove the boat
onto the trailer. We tied the cover onto the boat and drove back to the
farm. After parking the boat and truck in the barn, we went to the house
and took a break while watching a recording of the Preakness horse race.
Linda fixed us a pizza and enchiladas later.
Posted on Sunday, May 27, 2012
Memorial Weekend
Brent had a plan for boating on Saturday. His plan was to leave the
house early and get on the lake before it was too crowded. Stacey cooked
sausage biscuits for us as we packed coolers, put suntan lotion on and
the various other things we had to do before going to the lake. We
quickly ate and were on our way. I pulled the boat to the gas station
and filled the tank while Brent took the coolers and filled them with
ice. The lower parking lot at the State Park was already filled with tow
vehicles and boat trailers when we arrived and unloaded the boat. Brent
drove the truck and trailer to an upper parking lot while I kept the
boat floating in the middle of the ramp area. Pauline picked Brent up in
their HHR and returned to park in the lower lot to avoid a long walk for
Brent. I pulled the boat to the courtesy dock and picked up Pauline and
Brent, then we left the dock area at 8:44 AM. The lake was still calm
and smooth. I drove the boat into our favorite cove and we anchored,
then everyone swam for a long time. A little before lunch time, other
boats started pulling in and anchoring near us, so we pulled up the
anchor and went for a ride. We stopped at another quiet spot and ate
lunch and swam until we were invaded again. Each time we would move to
try to find a secluded place on the lake, just to see if we could. That
is one of the nicest things about Dale Hollow Lake, it has hundreds of
fingerlets where you can get away from others. People weren't really
getting that close to us, it was just a reason to move along to a new
spot. We moved two more times during the day, lounging and swimming at
every stop. The lake was getting a little rough out in the middle with
the boat traffic near the end of the day. Julie and Kyle were having fun
riding in the storage areas on the sides of the boat. When everyone had
enough sun and boating, we ate the rest of our sandwiches and took a
slow ride back to the State Park Dock just before 5 PM.
After
parking the boat in the barn, we went to the house and Linda fixed a
late supper. We watched a little TV, then went to bed.
Sunday
morning, people were slow to get up. Kyle and I took an early Mule ride
to keep him quiet while Pauline cooked breakfast. I noticed that Larry
Anderson had rolled half of the hay down the road and across the creek.
Brent helped Linda power wash the back porch before they left about 1:30
PM